Hawaiian Update

 Wow the day almost got away from me before I got a chance to post.  So though I am just catching it, I am still on a streak--3 days :)

Erinn and Michael's turn for an update.

They have been in Hawaii since the end of November.  They lived in a hotel for over a month--it might sound fun, but not really for that long in that expensive of a place.

They have now been in their own place for 5 months.  The longest they have been together in one place since they were married almost 2 years ago!

Here is their newest addition, Marley.  A cross of cute and adorable.  He is trouble on the move and Erinn's constant companion when Michael is on maneuvers.

Michael has recently passed his boards and is now promotable, which hopefully will be within the next year.  Congratulations on all the hard work!

Erinn is working with developmentally disabled children and young people through Hawaii Behavioral Health.  She is enjoying the challenge.

They have been enjoying exploring the island hiking and learning to paddle board, with sea turtles no less!

Oh and if life was not exciting enough, they just ran a 1/2 marathon together last weekend, and finished in just over 2 hours with lots of blisters to prove it!  Ha, my non-runner is running by choice!  I guess your running partner makes all the difference!

Drew's Turn

On to the second update.  As you can see I am going in no particular order.

Drew has finished his sophomore year at Washington State University. 

He has worked very hard to keep his grades up while being a scholarship division 1 athlete and working some.  So his academic scholarship has remained active!! Yeah!

He is planning on declaring the beginning of next year and as of now it will probably be kineseolgy, the study of how the body moves, with the desire to do athletic training or physical therapy.

This picture is from the NCAA Division 1 regional meet in Austin, Texas last weekend (notice the spike injury on his shin--yes that is blood running down his shin).  He placed 12th in his heat and 18th overall in the entire Western Region--that is half the US.

Congrats Drew on an amazing season.  With PR's in both the 5000M at 13:59 and in the 1500M at  3:47.

Sadly he did not compete at the PAC 12 meet in Eugene because of some scoring reasons and limitations on number of athletes able to participate.  Since he already had a qualifying time for the regional meet the coaches made a choice to keep him out and let others have a chance to shoot for a qualifying time.  I will say it was very hard on him and his father, but I know they both learned a lot from the experience, and I was very proud of Drew for the way he carried himself through that disappointment.

There is a great group of guys returning next year and he is excited to be a part of a nationally ranked team in cross country.

Sadly he will be staying in Pullman most of the summer working and training for next year, especially since he had to stay a month after school got out to train for regionals and has to be back before school for cross country training.  So goes the life of a scholarship athlete.

Drew has found a nice church that he enjoys and attends as he is able with his crazy schedule.  We are praying for some strong Bible Study opportunities for him in the next year.

He is praying for some sporadic work to keep him occupied.  He has opportunities with a turn over crew at some apartment buildings and a set up crew with an event planning group to set up tents and tables and such.  He will also be working as a counselor at Steens High Mountain Camp again for two weeks.  I am sure he would appreciate your prayers on the job front.

And there you go on up date #2.

Hannah Update

Since it has been so long since I have regularly posted, I thought I would do a catch up on each of the treasures.

Starting with the youngest---just because she is so cute :)

Hannah was 9 in February.  This is her sporting our first dive into yarn braids!  She loves them.  The first day she came down with 7, yes that is right, 7 different hair styles!  She is loving playing with her new long "hair".

She technically should be finishing the 3rd grade, but due to her learning challenges she is anywhere from 1st to 2nd depending on the subject.

Some of our challenges of late have been for all of us to learn what living with 'invisible special needs' looks like.

Hannah has various challenges including, but not limited to; Auditory Processing Disorder (APD), Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD), Motor Planning Disorder (MPD) and various learning disabilities, including lower IQ.  Add to these that she is 9 years old, but as tall as most 12 year olds, has Precocious Puberty, and the maturity of a 7 year old.  We can find ourselves in situations that are unsafe or that cause her issues to flare due to lack of supports for her emotional needs.

Example:  trying to explain to a teacher or a coach that she has special needs and needs extra support, they politely nod and mostly seem to ignore you because she looks "typical".  Then she becomes scared (PTSD) and shuts down when they are moving too fast for her (MPD) and she can not understand directions (APD).  Then we end up trying for a few days or weeks to encourage her to process with her limited language skills and bring her back to a point of felt safety.

We have chosen to keep her home a lot and sheltered, but we are going to need to expand to allow her to grow and be challenged.  It is just a learning curve for all of us.  So this summer she wants to try swim lessons and maybe some dance.  We will see how one goes first.  And VBS is always a plus.

Hannah loves to play with stuffed animals and dolls, for hours by herself.

She has really expanded her ability to play with others in the last year and this mamma's heart is thrilled to hear her playing and speaking in a "normal" manner with other kids!!  Yahoo!!!

Hannah has become my number one coupon shopping helper.  She helps sort coupons and find items on the shelf.  She thinks it is fun, unless Caleb is along, then she slips into his mood of 'bored out of your mind' and it is no fun for any of us :/

I thought I would end with a story she told me this morning.

Hannah's life as a grown up. She is going to marry a handsome man that she can kiss.  The will have one 'dotted' (Dalmatian) dog, because all married people get dogs!!   He will work at Walma*t and drive a motorcycle, because all newly married guys drive them.  She will be a stay at home mom and drive a van.  She is going to have 3 kids, 2 'borned' of her tummy and one 'dopted' from China!

Guess she has it all planned out:)

Gotta love the minds of kids.

A cold day of fishing

 David's dad, Darryl, has been home visiting from the Philippines for 3 weeks.  He left early this morning. 

 They were able to get in one day of fishing before he left.

 David has just purchased a boat from our good friend Ron, so he went up for the fishing and to make sure that David could maneuver the boat OK.

And yes, Caleb is wearing his new life jacket on the way up to the lake, in the car and everything :)

 Lest you start to be fooled and think that David is not so crazy as you have seen in some of the recent posts---this is from the drive up to the lake :/

 And this is the lake---I think!

 Looks like the fish did not mind the bad weather too much.

 Don't look too closely at Darryl's face here!

From the Philippines to fishing for hours in the snow.

Father and son.

Jumping Back In...

 ....to blogging that is.

I needed a break for a bit.

So prepare for lots of catch up posts.

First is the almost, finishing of our kitchen ceiling lift!!!

Yeah!

 This ceiling used to be dropped the the level of the cabinets!

I gained about 12 inches of head room.

And this is looking the other way---there used to be a bank of cabinets where the pendant lights are, so it really gave the kitchen a cave like feeling. 

Now I can see all through the living room!

I love it!